Upon Stone – Dead Mother Moon (Century Media)
Last year boasted some of the best melodic death metal to surface in some time, to the delight of these veteran ears. Newbies Majesties blasted off faces with Vast Reaches Unclaimed, and the legendary...
Artillery – Raw Live (In Copenhagen) (Mighty Music)
With four decades of playing thrash in the books, it’s natural that Artillery wishes to come out of the pandemic gates all guns blazing for this live album Raw Live (In Copenhagen). Recorded in...
Hiraes – Awakened Resilience
Storming into the melodic death metal community with their first album in the middle of the pandemic, Hiraes are back for round two with Dormant. Comprised of ex-members from Dawn of Disease and Critical...
Manticora – Mycelium (Mighty Music)
Danish band Manticora since arriving on the scene in 1997 has developed a thoughtful style that may be progressive power metal at its core, but also branches out into black, death, thrash, and traditional...
Mourning Dawn – The Foam of Despair (Aesthetic Death)
The progression of a band can be a funny thing. In the case of Mourning Dawn, they’ve been churning out black-tinged doom metal for two decades at this point, having been a consistent act...
Blood Red Throne – Nonagon (Soulseller Records)
The purity of death metal reigns again through the veins of veteran Norwegian act Blood Red Throne. Together for 26 years, Nonagon is the eleventh studio album for the quintet, a turning point for...
Any Given Day – Unbroken Spirits
With three full-length albums already under their belts, Germany's Any Given Day have been making a name for themeselves in the German metal scene for over a decade. Their newest album, Limitless, is their...
Dust & Bones – Mission Back To the Forbidden Planet (El Puerto Records)
Beyond the love of heavy metal, Germany also has a healthy appreciation for raw, dirty rock ‘n’ roll with stoner, punk and darker overtones. Dust & Bones are one of the domestic quintets continually...
The Rods – Rattle the Cage (Massacre Records)
I've always heard of The Rods but never really honed in on them. Well, their new album Rattle the Cage is out as I write this on Massacre Records, so I thought I'd check...
Nemophila – Evolve (Masterworks)
Steadily making a name for themselves as a force in Japan since their debut in 2019, and hot off of their first US run early last year, Nemophila returns for their third full-length album,...
Saxon – Hurling Fire and Steel
Photo: Ned Wakeman
Veterans of the classic British metal style that elevated this music to a global audience, Saxon continues to produce high quality studio albums even in these modern times. Hell, Fire and Damnation...
Hiraes – Dormant (Napalm)
Hiraes' debut, 2021's Solitary, proved to be a shining beacon for old school melodic death metal fans. They showcased their knowledge of the genre's capabilities (4/5 members were in the long-running Dawn of Disease...
Hellman – Born, Suffering, Death (Black Lodge / Sound Pollution)
From Chile comes Hellman – the brainchild of vocalist/bassist Felipe Ferrada, best known for his front of house work at live shows and running an international booking agency Ferroda Booking. Rounding out the lineup...
Any Given Day – Limitless (Arising Empire)
Despite having a strong scene over the years, the German metalcore movement never really exploded in the same way that it's American counterpart did. Bigger acts like Caliban and Heaven Shall Burn nonetheless soldiered...
Advocacy – Perseverance Through Decoherence
Progressive rock / metal may always be a niche style in terms of acceptance, but the following and exploration in terms of where musicians take these genres has never shined brighter as it has...